Canada relaxes Covid curbs, allows migrants to enter the country
As of February 28, travelers with a pre-arrival antigen test are permitted to enter Canada. Previously, travelers had to have a molecular test, such as a PCR test, performed within 72 hours of their scheduled flight or border crossing.
All visitors to Canada over the age of five still require a Covid-19 test before crossing the border. The new regulations require incoming travelers to provide an antigen test result obtained within one day of their scheduled flight or arrival at the border. The test cannot be performed at home; it must be performed a laboratory, healthcare entity, or telehealth service that is licensed in the country where it was purchased. PCR tests are still accepted in Canada. There have been no changes to the rules governing pre-arrival PCR tests.
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In addition to the PCR test requirement being eliminated, unvaccinated children would no longer be required to isolate for 14 days, and international flights would resume at all airports.
If you have recovered from Covid-19
Travelers who continue to test positive for Covid-19 after recovering may board a plane, subject to certain conditions. As part of the pre-arrival test requirements, you must provide a positive Covid-19 molecular test on a specimen collected at least 10 days but no more than 180 days before entering Canada.
ArriveCAN
All travelers must still submit their mandatory information through ArriveCAN. Coming visitors can use the desktop or mobile app to submit proof of vaccination in English or French, as well as a quarantine plan, before arriving in Canada.
Travelers who have not been fully immunized
Partially vaccinated and unvaccinated travelers will be quarantined for 14 days and must take a mandatory Covid-19 test on arrival and on day 8.
Travelers who have received all of their vaccinations
Travelers who are fully vaccinated do not need to be quarantined when they arrive in Canada if they meet the following criteria:
Meet pre-entry testing requirements
Do not have any symptoms
Submit all required Covid-19 information to ArriveCAN and present their ArriveCAN receipt, pre-departure test results, and paper or digital
Proof of vaccination documents before boarding their flight to Canada
Have a suitable quarantine plan in place in the event that they do not qualify for the exemption
Random tests are required upon arrival
Border agents may choose you at random for a mandatory arrival test. If you are vaccinated and are chosen randomly for a mandatory arrival test, you must take it on the day you enter Canada. The test may be adminered at the airport, or officials may provide you with a self-swab kit to complete within 24 hours of entering the country.
You do not have to wait for the results if you are chosen at random for the on-arrival test. You are free to travel to your final destination and take connecting flights, and you are not required to quarantine while awaiting your results. According to the government of Canada, you can expedite the process regering in advance with the testing provider for the airport, where you will arrive using the same email address that you used for ArriveCAN.
Children under the age of 12 are subjected to a modified quarantine
Children under the age of 12 who are not fully vaccinated, are traveling with fully vaccinated or medically exempt adults, and are not fully vaccinated will be exempt from quarantine. They are no longer required to wait 14 days before returning to school, camp, or daycare.
These children may be subjected to mandatory random testing upon arrival, but they will not be subjected to quarantine while the results of the tests are awaited.
